Judges Comment: Like many others, I enjoy the playing of bagpipes. My wedding in Ireland was accompanied by their melody. But, most would admit that a bagpipe player is least admired when he's not wanted. (The same would be true for any instrument.) This young boy expresses his obvious disaffection for the instrument while dad stands by in amusement. As for the photo, it's all there in a single moment. It's well composed and the lens use is excellent for the occasion. Hopefully the pipes were performed as well as the image.

Judges Comment: It's almost enough to make an image from those curvaceous graphic elements in this setting but when those red shoes entered the photo, a focal point - an attitude of sorts - was added to the image. It's a nice image even without those shoes but something tells me that the photographer probably wouldn't have even made the photo if not for them. I would choose the same.

Judges Comment: The angles and shapes make this image a work of art. The sudden touch of the red shoes brings it all into focus.

Judges Comment: I like the way the saxophone player, alone in the crowd, stands out among the throng of party-goers. It's good photography and serves the subject matter well by providing a sense of place without loss of the subject - a fault of many "way-back, wide angle" approaches to a scene.

Judges Comment: It's tough to resist the deep saturated colors, beautiful lighting and lovely composition of this image. It's one of those photos that we used to laud as being an image that "simply works."

Judges Comment: It's probably a commonplace scene in this country, but that doesn't matter to me any more than any other "commonplace" occurrence is found in most photography. It's all about lighting and composition and lens choice and angle and the irresistible but oft-elusive moment. This image takes a very simple approach to the situation to present us with something delightful to ponder.

Photographer's Comment: I am short so I am always looking for elevated areas when I can't bring along my ladder. I went up on stage with the band's permission and used my Off Camera Flash to create a star effect in the crook of the trumpet players arm and fill from my on camera. Using a 24mm on the 7D I was able to catch the feel of the party with an artistic flair.